The 45 ^th  Annual JAB Maui Burn & Wound Symposium met on January 21-26 with a significant focus on the use of skin substitutes and proper wound bed debridement. Though some clinical presentations focused on chronic, surgical and other trauma wounds, burns dominated the agenda. Compared to diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), pressure injuries and other chronic wounds, there are fewer burns, but their unique treatment requirements and impact on patients increase the importance of targeted therapies. In the US,   SmartTRAK estimates there were approximately 496,530 burns requiring treatment in 2021 with 40,870 burns requiring hospitalization. SmartTRAK estimates the burn market will reach 513,550 cases requiring treatment by 2026 with hospitalization for 42,270 cases (+0.7% 5-year CAGR).

Treating burns with skin substitutes dominated the clinical presentations and discussions on the exhibit hall floor. A close second discussion point was the role of proper wound bed preparation or debridement. This article highlights new products from Kerecis*,Vericel*, Epien Medical, PixaMedand the role of debridement in wound healing.  

Among the many topics covered in detail in the complete article, which is available as a download, are:

The potential of US reimbursement changes to Skin Substitutes weighed heavily on companies at SAWC Fall, yet subsequently, CMS decided to delay finalizing its proposed changes.

The Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall 2022 gathered for another year in Las Vegas. The exhibit hall was filled with most wound care manufacturers and though booth hours were short, the clinical attendees made the best of their time searching out the latest in wound care technologies.

In this article, SmartTRAK discusses:

• Alternative Product Developments to the Skin Substitute Market 
• Potential Impact of Proposed Reimbursement Changes
• The Top Four Companies by Revenue 
• CMS' Proposed Terminology Change from “Skin Substitute”
• Packaging Skin Substitutes as “Incident to” Supplies

WW Advanced Wound Care continues to grow in the mid-single-digits as company revenues reflect normalcy in wound care with a likely increase in wound severity.

For Q222, SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard reports the WW Advanced Wound Care (AWC) market grew +6.4%. WW Advanced Dressings and WW Wound Biologics were also up, while NPWT-heavy External Devices revenue increased marginally.

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q222 Advanced Wound Care Market Recap* are:

• Complete Q222 AWC Overview and Highlights
• SmartTRAK's Expert Analysis and Insights
• All Company News including Revenues, Data, Charts and Shares
• Growth Analysis – Currency Having a Significant Impact in Q2

In June, wound, ostomy and continence-focused nurses, and supporting industry gathered in Fort Worth, TX for the hybrid WOCNext 2022 conference. In-person attendance was below expectations, but healthy booth time allowed for product discussions with exhibitors.

WW Advanced Wound Care growth settles to a traditional mid-single digit growth rate as global wound care moves past COVID-19.

Jack Kalavritinos, Former HHS/FDA Senior Official and Principal of JK Strategies, discusses the importance and benefits of government affairs in medtech

Jack Kalavritinos is the Founder and Principal of JK Strategies, a communications and public policy firm that helps organizations develop winning communication and policy strategies. Jack is also a former senior government official and appointee in HHS, FDA and DOL. Jack has decades of Washington, DC government, political and business experience including in the medtech sector with Covidien.

In this interview with SmartTRAK, Jack shares his thoughts on the benefits to medtech commercial leaders of developing collaborative relationships with their government affairs colleagues. Specifically, SmartTRAK’s interview with Jack covers the next phases of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the potential impact of the midterm elections and ways companies can work with the FDA.

To find out more, including Jack’s take on how medtech commercial leaders can develop relationships with their Representatives and Senators, click on the following video recorded live via Zoom. Outlined below are specific interview topics by the minute. To download a complete transcript of the interview, click here.

Emerging from the COVID-19 era, wound care innovation is driven by smaller companies

In April, the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Spring 2022 returned to an in-person format for the first time since 2019. Though the turnout was below expectations, attendees enjoyed reconnecting with clinicians, engaging with vendors and catching up with colleagues and competitors.

Despite being three years since the last SAWC Spring, large wound care companies like Smith+Nephew* (SNN), Mölnlycke*, 3M* and others were oddly without major product introductions. SmartTRAK has learned that extended FDA review timelines and supply challenges may be playing a significant role in this reality. Companies have publicly commented that innovation and new product launches are planned for 2022, but timelines must have slipped past the SAWC Spring deadlines.

Regardless, innovation was not completely absent from SAWC Spring as smaller companies introduced new products and more companies exhibited IT-driven diagnostic, measurement and data-capture technologies.

(The SmartTRAK team will be attending the upcoming European Wound Management Association (EWMA) event May 23-25 in Paris. We would love to schedule some time to meet and hear your perspectives and views and discuss how SmartTRAK can help you make more informed strategic business decisions.)

In this article, SmartTRAK highlights new products and novel technologies exhibited at SAWC Spring 2022.

Macroeconomic headwinds are projected to continue through the first half of 2022.

Supply chain headaches and inflationary pressures significantly impacted wound care companies in 2021. Though Advanced Wound Care revenue rebounded +11.5% in 2021 according to SmartTRAK’s Financial Dashboard, it was not without strong headwinds of higher input costs, logistical nightmares and labor shortages.

To understand how these macroeconomic trends affected wound care companies, SmartTRAK reviewed quarterly and fiscal year earnings reports from FY21 to see how various wound care companies reported the company-specific impact. From troubles sourcing materials to higher input costs and the need to raise prices, SmartTRAK uncovered a consistent trend of macroeconomic pressures affecting many global and regional wound care manufacturers.

Advanced wound care delivers strong double-digit growth and still has room to grow.

The WW Advanced Wound Care markets regained their form in FY21 as wound care recovered globally after COVID-19 impacted FY20. Advanced Dressings delivered nearly double-digit growth, with Wound Biologics and External Devices also reporting excellent revenue growth vs FY20.

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q421/FY21 AWC Market Recap* are: